A LEADING Burnley supporters' club has called for a rapid conclusion to the takeover saga at Turf Moor.
The Clarets Independent Supporters Association is appealing to the Burnley board to call an EGM, place a strict deadline on the funding issue and put the full details of both bids to the shareholders.
The takeover fronted by Peter Shackleton has long-since been approved by the directors but even some on the board are starting to lose patience over the length of time it is taking for Shackleton to back the package with hard cash.
And the CISA claim the delay is reducing the club to a laughing stock left in limbo with no manager or assistant, no physio, players out of contract and existing staff members unsure of their future.
Chairman Pete Heywood said: "As a shareholder and season ticket holder the events of the last 12 months have been almost as traumatic as when I bought my shares.
"I simply want to put my vote to the best deal that is available."
Meanwhile, the Clarets are hoping that the size of the club's support will help them hang on to their out-of-contract players. Eight players are still to agree new deals with six out of contract and able to leave this summer, namely Paul Weller, Gerry Harrison, Damian Matthew, Mark Winstanley, Jamie Hoyland and Chris Vinnicombe. However, director Bob Blakeborough is hopeful that the majority will be happy with the terms on offer.
He said: "We have tried to be fairly generous and the offers reflect that Burnley is ambitious and a bigger club than some of the competitors in our division.
"We have massive overheads compared with some but we do enjoy good support that reflects what we offer our staff."
The Clarets average home league gate for the campaign just finished was 10,381, despite their season-long battle against the drop.
That figure made them the third best supported club in the Second Division behind the promoted pair of Watford and Bristol City.
Blakeborough added: "I would like to think we offered very fair deals and would be hopeful that the players concerned will agree to them. I am fairly convinced that we offered them a good package and players are not unrealistic in general terms." While players are still free to shop around under the Bosman ruling, time is of the essence where the appointment of a new manager is concerned and the Clarets should move towards choosing Chris Waddle's successor next week.
Blakeborough admitted that getting the right man is crucial after flirting with the drop this season and is confident that they will be selecting from the right calibre of candidates.
"I think we have got some first-class applicants and hopefully we will speaking to most if not all of them next week," he added.
The Second Division play-off final between Northampton Town and Auto Windscreens Shield holders Grimsby takes place at Wembley tomorrow.
And the Clarets will be taking on Colchester next season after they beat Torquay 1-0 to win the Division Three final last night.
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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